Welcome to Central City ...
The city of Central City is primarily located in Gilpin County<1> and is the County Seat for Gilpin County. A portion of Central City extends into Clear Creek County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Central City, you might consider that their post office opened in 1869.
The city was incorporated June 12, 1886.
From Place Names in Colorado,<2> the origin of Central City is described as "Named because it was the center of trading for that area."
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Central City has a population of 736 people<3> (see below for details).
Central City is 8,620 feet [2,627 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the altitude of Central City is about 1¾ mile [or ~2¾ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Central City lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Central City: 303 & 720<5>
The ZIP code for Central City: 80427<6>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Central City had an population of 736 people. This is an increase of 11.01% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 42.91% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Central City had a population of 663 people (which is 12.12% of the total population of Gilpin County). This makes Central City the county's most populous community.
The population of Central City represents 0.01% of the total population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 175th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 663 people, the population of Central City increased 28.74% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 515 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Central City.
Communities Also Named Central City ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 23 communities that are also named Central City - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas (2), Florida, Georgia, Illinois (2), Iowa, Kansas (5), Kentucky, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania (2) and South Dakota.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Central City.
Websites for Central City ...
Official Website: www.centralcitycolorado.us/
Communities near Central City ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Central City.
- Boulder
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
- Boulder is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boulder <7>
- Golden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
- Golden is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,347 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Golden <7>
- Nederland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nederland
- Nederland is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
- Former names for Nederland:
- Browns Crossing
- Dayton
- Middle Boulder
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nederland <7>
- Fraser
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraser
- Fraser is located in Grand County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,348 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fraser <7>
- Winter Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winter Park have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Park
- Winter Park is located in Grand County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,106 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winter Park <7>
- Georgetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Clear Creek County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,102 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Georgetown <7>
- Morrison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrison have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Morrison is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrison <7>
- Empire
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Empire is located in Clear Creek County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 302 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Empire <7>
- Silver Plume
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Plume have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Plume
- Silver Plume is located in Clear Creek County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Plume <7>
- Ward
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Ward is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ward <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Central City. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Central City.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Central City. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Central City.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Central City. Our list includes 30 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Central City.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Central City ...
Looking for more information about Central City? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Central City, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Central City.
Adding Central City to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Central City in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Central City was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
X2X - From that list, the Central City post office opened in 1869.
We also found Central City in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Central City.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Central City: www.centralcitycolorado.us/
The official website for Gilpin County: www.co.gilpin.co.us/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Colorado's counties, including Gilpin, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Central City. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Central City - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 303 code has been Overlayed with the 720 area code. New phone numbers in the Central City area will be assigned with one of these codes: 303 or 720. As a result, placing a call in the Central City area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Central City). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Central City or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |